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Phelps Dunbar to remain downtown; Law firm takes 12-year lease, to invest $1.75
million
as
reported in the January 14, 2003 issue of the Clarion-Ledger
by Arnold Lindsay
Phelps Dunbar is investing about $1.75 million to equip and upgrade office space
it will occupy in downtown Jackson beginning in June.
Parkway Properties will also spend about $1 million to remodel 45,000 square feet
the law firm will lease at 111 East Capitol St.
The $2.75 million investment underscores the value of being located downtown,
said Rick Bass, managing partner of Phelps Dunbar in Jackson.
"We believe we can best serve our clients from this location," Bass
said. "We recognize how important it is for the hub of the metro area to
be vibrant and robust."
The firm's decision to remain is a boost for Jackson's business district, said
John Lawrence of Downtown Jackson Partners.
"This is and always will be the economic engine for the rest of the state,"
Lawrence said. Renovation of the space on the sixth floor and part of the fifth
floor begins Feb. 1. Phelps Dunbar has agreed to a 12-year lease.
The firm, which has had an office in Jackson for 17 years, currently occupies
30,000 square feet of space on the third floor of the SkyTel Centre.
Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said firm officials have seen the vision of things
to come in downtown Jackson, like the Metro Parkway, Union Station and the Farish
Street Entertainment District.
"This is really a very important project, a very important move, because
it's a firm who has been in downtown for a number of years," Johnson said.
"Once we had time to carefully consider this, it was a no-brainer,"
Bass said of the decision to stay downtown.
Steve Rogers, president and CEO of Parkway Properties, said the negotiations have
been ongoing for a year. With more than 200 lawyers on staff at offices in Mississippi,
Louisiana, Florida, Texas and London, Phelps Dunbar has the highest percentage
of African-American attorneys of any firm in the U.S. The firm's Jackson office
has 111 employees.